Lotus in the Ice
by Forrestib
Summary: Ren finds Weiss crying in the city and tries to comfort her in the wake of betrayal. Written for RWBY relationship week. (Ren/Weiss)


Weiss had been searching for 5 hours already. She had found no sign of Blake the whole time. She hadn't been entirely sure what to think about the girl she had thought to be her friend. Weiss thought back to the argument that had led to the realization of the Faunus' identity. She thought back to how isolated Blake had been at the start of the year. She thought about the final words the girl had spoken to her "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

There was no other interpretation. Blake was a member of the White Fang. Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose to settle the thoughts that were rattling through her head. Should she trust her teammate now that she knew? Could she? For now all she could do was continue to search and hope things would become clearer. She called out a few more times before she got desperate "Blake! I'm sorry! I'm sorry ok! You can come out now."

Her voice broke as she collapsed into tears. Why did she care so much about this? Why wouldn't she? Her head throbbed with uncertainty. She found herself leaning against a stone wall in an alley off the side of the street attempting to stop the flow of dry tears. She heard a voice nearby.

"Weiss?" Ren looked at the crying girl in disbelief. He walked over and knelt by her side putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder "Hey, it's ok. What happened?"

Weiss looked up at him and blue eyes met pink. She wiped her eye on her sleeve "I had an argument with Blake. She lied to me Ren. She was my teammate and she lied to me. I trusted her!" She started to cry again.

Ren sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He held her consolingly as he shushed her crying quietly with a soft tone to his voice. They sat there for a few moments before she stopped crying again. He brushed a tear out of her eye and asked "What did she say exactly?"

Weiss laughed as she shook her head "With that girl it's what she doesn't say you have to look out for. She never did talk much, Even less about herself."

Ren nodded "She's the quiet type."

Weiss nodded "Like you in a lot of ways."

Ren looked at her "Like you in some." Weiss looked at him questioningly. He continued "You never have talked much about your past. You don't like people disturbing your calm. You push people away to avoid them getting hurt."

Weiss glared at him and pushed him away "I do no such thing!" Ren grabbed one of her wrists and pointed to it with his eyes. Weiss looked at her arm in its outstretched position. It was perfectly blocking Ren from getting any closer to her. She quickly realized what he was saying and lowered her arms. She thought back to Blake and all the things the two of them had said.

After a few minutes of silence Ren inquired further "What didn't she tell you?" His tilted his head a bit in a somewhat secretive manner "Is she seeing someone? Is it Yang?"

Weiss looked up at him and laughed "No, nothing like that. We're just friends."

Ren questioned "So you are friends?"

Weiss paused for a moment "I don't know."

Ren looked at her for a moment before repeating his question again "What didn't she tell you?"

Weiss looked at him with an almost begging expression "Promise you can keep a secret?" Ren gave her a slight smile. She nodded and smiled back "Ok, Blake is a faunus. and more than that she's a member of the White Fang."

Ren's eyes widened "How do you know?"

Weiss looked back at the events "I insulted the White Fang. I said that they were nothing but common criminals. She defended them. Then she started defending herself as if i had been attacking her the whole time."

Ren pointed out "If she really is a member of the White Fang you do realize that you were attacking her the whole time, even if you didn't intend to." Weiss looked at the floor in realization at her close-mindedness. Ren thought for a moment before speaking "Maybe she isn't even a member anymore. She could have left years ago. The White Fang was once peaceful after all."

Weiss looked up at him. Their faces lingered in close proximity. Weiss moved her hand up to the boy's cheek. She spoke now with the most genuine tone she had used in years "Thank you. I'm glad you found me here."

Ren looked her in the eye and saw the sincerity of her words. He smiled "Nora sent me to buy more honey for her badger trap. I wasn't doing anything important." He raised the bottle of honey that he had set on the ground earlier into sight.

Weiss laughed at this "Badger trap? Does she know that there are no badgers in this half of Vytal?"

Ren shook his head "She knows. She doesn't care. Knowing her she'll probably find some way to catch a badger anyway." They both laughed at this for a few seconds. Ren stood and helped Weiss up "Come on. You should keep looking for Blake."

Weiss took his hand and hoisted her way up. When they both were standing she soon realized how close they were to each other. For some reason she couldn't force herself to step back. Even though she needed it not for support she still held his hand. Her headache was gone was her heart was racing. When Ren stepped back and lifted the jar of honey between them she knew the moment had ended and it saddened her.

Ren indicated the jar as he spoke "I should get this honey back to Nora before it spoils."

Weiss giggled "I don't think honey spoils." Ren looked at the bottom of the jar for an expiration date and found none.

He gestured behind him "well she'll be wanting it soon anyway."

Weiss couldn't help but question him as to the nature of his relationship with the hammer-wielding bouncy blur "So are you and Nora… ?"

Ren almost dropped the honey as he waved the idea off "No no no, just friends. Best friends forever, nothing more."

Weiss could barely contain a smile "Ah." She failed at containing her words though "Good."

Ren tilted his head and questioned "Good?"

Weiss could feel the world drop underneath her as she scrambled to find a proper explanation for the wording "I just mean that it's good that you two will always have each other as friends. You'll always be able to count on one another."

Ren failed at entirely covering his disappointment "Ah, yes. Well i hope you find Blake and get things sorted out."

Weiss smiled back at him "I have a feeling that everything is going to turn out just fine. Wish Nora luck on her badger hunt for me."

Ren laughed "alright, sure thing. Have a good night." He turned away and started walking into the night.

Weiss waved at him "Alright, goodnight!"

Weiss turned away from the boy and looked at her watch. They had been talking for almost an hour. She turned back to the streets and started walking having completely forgotten her route as well as where all she had already searched. She walked as she thought about what the boy had said. She didn't know how. Somehow she knew. He was right.


End file.
